20 Years
by ScarletRogue1881
Summary: A little song-fic based on The Civil Wars song '20 Years' told from Remy's POV.


A/N: Another little song fic I wrote. This one is based on The Civil War's '20 Years' and is in Remy's POV.

Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated, no pressure though.

I'd always been told I was born with the gift of the natural charmer, that I could get any woman with just an easy smile and a few sweet words. This was true, most of the time; but when it came to Rogue Darkholme, I was completely lost. She always had a way of cutting me down to size, to make me feel nervous whenever she was in the same room, and she knew it.

Last I'd heard she was happily shacked up with Quicksilver, that right there made me laugh, not because I found it funny, no, quite the opposite, it made me angry and a little sad that she'd sooner be with a former Brotherhood member, and I don't care if he's 'redeemed' himself by joining the Avengers, but she'd rather be with him than me, I mean, come on, he's Magneto's son!

We didn't part on good terms, I know that, maybe I'd come on a little strong, maybe I spooked her, but I meant every word I said to her, that I didn't care about her skin, we could work around it or if she'd prefer me to wait til she got control, I could do that too, as long as I got to be with her.

I didn't get what I hoped for, instead, she got mad, screaming at me that she knew I saw her as a challenge and that once the novelty wore off, I'd go find someone else. And I admit, I shouted a bit in return, offended that after we'd been friends for close to five years, she still thought I was nothing more than a man-whore. After the argument, when she made it clear she didn't want me, I left the X-Men, mainly out of embarrassment as practically everybody in the mansion had heard our altercation. Jean Grey had given me a sympathetic look while the Wolverine happily showed me the door. That was just over fifteen years ago.

And what have I become? Still a no good thief working for the Guild, practically Jean-Luc's lapdog and the worst part is, I don't even care anymore, I barely care for anything lately. I'd even stopped going out to bars to get laid, the women held no interest for me. In the beginning, I'd went for girls that looked sort of like Rogue; reddish hair, green eyes. But it never helped, none of them could match her or that feeling I had whenever she crossed my mind.

Boredom was the main thing in my life, not even the thrill of a heist could change my mood. So, I'd always try to keep myself busy, be that spending a whole day cooking or tidying my house so much that it looked like a showroom. During one of those cleaning days, I came across a box full of stuff I hadn't bothered to unpack when I left New York. Inside was mainly just books, packs of cards and trinkets I'd swiped from around Bayville, but right at the bottom was a tattered envelope.

I didn't have to unfold it to know what it was, it was my lousy attempt at a love letter to Rogue that I'd written soon after joining the X-Men. I'd never wrote one before, mainly because I didn't have someone to write one to and I found them slightly cheesy. But after hearing her talk to Shadowcat about how she thought it was romantic because she'd read it in one of her books, I went straight to my room and began composing. It was nothing special, mainly just saying that I found her beautiful, that her skin didn't scare me, and that she made me happy even when she was trying her hardest to be mean to me.

Obviously, I'd never given it to her, I kept putting it off, it worried me that she was only kidding about love letters and that she'd laugh straight in my face if I handed it to her, of course, if that happened I'd laugh along with her at my own expense and I'd hide how hard of a blow it was.

The smile that crossed my face as I trailed my thumb over her named imprinted on the envelope was filled with bitterness, maybe if I'd given it to her things would've been different, maybe I'd still be with the X-Men, fighting alongside the woman I loved, maybe she'd be my wife by now. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. Too late, LeBeau.

But I could still give it to her, it may not change things drastically, she'll probably still stay with Speedy, but if she knew that my feelings were genuine, that I'd had this and wanted to give it to her, she might want to be friends, I could settle for that, I'd rather have her in my life as a friend, than have her be nothing at all.

Picking up my phone, I'd called one of the new members of the Guild, Lafayette, was his name I think, and told him I had an easy job for him and in return I'd stop him from cleaning duties for the next month. When he arrived at my house, I handed the letter over as if it was made of thin glass, gave him the address of Xavier's institute and gave him strict instructions to hand it to Rogue herself but if she wasn't at the mansion then call up our lead tech-guy to track her down. After giving him some money for travel expenses, I sent him on his way.

In my chest, I felt something I hadn't in such a long time, it was hope; hope that she'd give me a chance, but hope that she wouldn't get the wrong idea that I was trying to break her relationship up. In the back of my mind I knew that sending a love letter to a woman who already has a man doesn't look too good, I just needed her to know that I did care for her and I still do.

Six days later Lafayette called me to say he'd given her the letter; when I asked what Rogue said, he'd replied she'd said nothing, just read the letter and walked away. I bowed my head and hung up without saying anything else, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Stupid, LeBeau, real fucking stupid.

After another four days Lafayette returned, I almost didn't answer the door when he knocked, but I wanted to ask him how she looked, if she seemed happy. I thanked the good God that I'd opened the door, as the smiling young thief handed me a fresh white envelope with my name written neatly on the front.

"Da lady said you'd better not wait another twenty years to respond."


End file.
